After attacks in Iraq and Syria, the United States and Britain bombed Houthi positions in Yemen. The UN is scheduling an emergency meeting for Monday.
Royal Air Force fighter aircraft Photo: dpa
UN emergency meeting scheduled for Monday over US airstrikes
According to diplomatic sources, the UN Security Council will meet on Monday at Russia's request for an emergency meeting in relation to US airstrikes in Syria and Iraq. The meeting will begin at 4:00 p.m. (local time, 10:00 p.m. CET) in New York and will address US retaliation against groups backed by Iran, several diplomatic sources told AFP on Saturday. Washington accuses these groups of a deadly attack against American soldiers.
Russia had previously announced that it had requested an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council. “We have just called an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council due to the threat to peace and security posed by US attacks on Syria and Iraq,” said Russia's deputy ambassador to the UN, Dmitry Polyansky.
Earlier in Moscow, the Russian Foreign Ministry said: “Washington, confident in its impunity, continues to sow chaos and destruction in the Middle East.” The Foreign Ministry added that it “strongly condemns” the attacks. The United States bombed targets in Iraq and Syria on Saturday night in response to a deadly drone attack in Jordan. The White House blamed Iranian-backed militias in Iraq for the attack that left three dead on the border with Syria and Iraq in late January. (afp)
Pro-Iran Houthi militia announces retaliation after British and US attacks
The pro-Iran Houthi militia in Yemen has vowed to retaliate following recent attacks by the United States and Britain. The attacks “will not go without reaction and punishment,” militia spokesman Jahja Saree said Sunday on the online service X, formerly Twitter. However, the attacks “will not stop” the militia from “supporting” the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. (afp)
US and Britain attack Houthi positions in Yemen
With airstrikes against Houthi militia positions in Yemen, the United States has again taken action against an Iran-backed group in the Middle East. After striking more than 85 targets linked to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard in Iraq and Syria, the United States and Britain said they bombed 36 targets in 13 locations in Yemen on Saturday. Allies say these are positions that are connected to the Iran-backed Houthi militia. Weapons depots and guided missile facilities were attacked. Yemen's Houthi-run Saba news agency reported 14 attacks by the United States and Britain.
The United States referred to the repeated bombing of international ships off the Yemeni coast by the Houthi militia. “This joint action sends a clear message to the Houthis that they will face greater consequences if they do not end their illegal attacks against international civilian and military vessels,” said US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. The airstrikes carried out jointly with Britain were supported by Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands and New Zealand. The British Secretary of Defense, Grant Shapps, spoke of an act of self-defense protected by international law.
After the violent deaths of three US soldiers in the Middle East, the US military said it struck more than 85 targets in Iraq and Syria linked to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. More than 30 people were reportedly killed in retaliatory attacks against guards and allied militias. Iran, Iraq, Syria and Russia condemned the US airstrikes. Britain, on the other hand, gave the United States the right to respond to Saturday's attacks. Since the Gaza war began on October 7, US troops in Iraq, Syria and Jordan have been attacked more than 160 times. Last weekend there were deaths for the first time. The United States has blamed radical Iranian-backed militias for the deadly attacks in Jordan, near the border with Syria. (rtr)
Baerbock: Israeli offensive in Rafah cannot be justified
Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) criticized Israel's announcement that it will extend its military offensive in Gaza to Rafah. She told Editorial Network Germany (RND, Saturday) that she “heard this announcement with horror.” “To act now in Rafah, in the last and most populated place, as announced by the Israeli Defense Minister, would simply be unjustifiable.” The people of Gaza could not disappear into thin air.
Baerbock called for international security guarantees for the implementation of a two-state solution in the Middle East. Sustainable security for Israel can only emerge if Palestinians can also live in security and dignity in their own state. “To do this, Israel and the Palestinians must simultaneously recognize that the security of each other is the guarantee of life for oneself. In my opinion, this can only work in a two-state solution.”
Baerbock also called for the establishment of “a true Palestinian administration.” To achieve this, it is necessary to reform the Palestinian Authority. Gaza would later have to be rebuilt with the help of a kind of Marshall Plan.
The dismantling of Israeli settlements in Palestinian areas and the recognition of the Palestinian state should also be discussed. The prerequisite is a new ceasefire in which the Israeli hostages would be released. “As long as the hostages are not free and the daily inhuman suffering of children and civilians does not decrease, it will be difficult to break the Gordian knot and no one will be able to talk about the day after. “That is why a new ceasefire is so important,” said Baerbock.
Baerbock once again spoke out against the dissolution of the UN Palestinian aid agency, UNRWA. “UNRWA structures in Gaza are also used by other UN actors, such as Unicef or the World Food Programme. “They really cannot be replaced quickly in these acute days of war, also because the other organizations there can no longer help the Israeli army without security guarantees,” he said. (epd)
Hamas Authority: More than 120 people killed in the Gaza Strip
According to Palestinian figures, at least 127 people have been killed in the last 24 hours in the ongoing fighting in the Gaza Strip. This was announced on Sunday by the health authority controlled by the Islamist Hamas. Another 178 people were injured.
A total of 27,365 Palestinians have been killed in the isolated coastal strip since the start of the war. Hamas authorities said another 66,630 people were wounded. The numbers cannot be independently verified. However, the UN and other observers note that the authority's information has generally proven credible in the past. At the same time, no distinction must be made between civilians and armed combatants. The authority simply points out that the majority of the victims are women, children, young people and older men. (dpa)